The night was deep and quiet, and moonlight streamed through the wooden window, falling across the warm brick bed.
Li Zhaoye looked at the woman sprawled out on the bed and sighed. He hadn’t expected her alcohol tolerance to be this low.
She had drunk fewer than ten small cups in total, and it was only rice wine, yet she had still gotten this drunk!
Lin Jingwan felt parched. Her hands fumbled around, tugging randomly at the mandarin-style knotted buttons at the collar of her shirt.
Seeing how restless and agitated she was, Li Zhaoye patiently helped her undo two of the buttons.
With the tightness around her neck relieved, Lin Jingwan gradually calmed down. Her eyelashes trembled, and her lips moved as she mumbled something indistinct.
Li Zhaoye leaned closer and asked, “What did you say?”
“Thirsty… I’m thirsty!”
Li Zhaoye turned around and poured her a cup of warm water. Supporting her back, he brought the cup to her lips.
Lin Jingwan tilted her head back and gulped down a large mouthful before finally quieting down.
Li Zhaoye began taking off his outer clothes. He planned to sleep on the other side of the bed for the night.
However, just as he had neatly folded his clothes and placed them to the side, the woman on the bed struggled to sit up again.
“What are you trying to do?” Li Zhaoye quickly reached out to steady her.
“Go to the bathroom…”
Seeing that her legs were weak and she was swaying unsteadily, Li Zhaoye thought that in the darkness, she might accidentally fall into the latrine.
He initially planned to go to the next room and wake Luoluo to help, but then he reconsidered. A half-grown child didn’t have much strength, and if she couldn’t support Lin Jingwan properly, the two of them might end up falling into the latrine together.
After thinking it over, he had no choice but to handle it himself.
And so, Colonel Li walked out of the house shirtless, supporting the heavily intoxicated Lin Jingwan as they made their way step by step toward the latrine outside the courtyard.
But the moment they entered, the pungent smell hit them head-on.
As soon as Lin Jingwan smelled it, the alcohol churned violently in her stomach. She immediately bent over and began dry-heaving.
“Ugh”
“Blegh”
“Ugh”
Everything in her stomach came rushing out, splattering all over the ground.
She frowned miserably and instinctively turned her head.
Unfortunately, she ended up vomiting another large mouthful directly onto Li Zhaoye’s chest.
Li Zhaoye’s entire body went rigid.
Actually, he could have dodged just then. But the woman was staggering, and if he moved away, she would surely fall.
So he forced himself to endure it!!
The veins at Li Zhaoye’s temples began throbbing. He simply couldn’t stand the smell lingering beneath his nose anymore, so he decisively hoisted her onto his shoulder.
When they reached an empty patch of ground, he put her down and spoke in a commanding tone.
“You! Do your business here.”
After causing such a mess, Lin Jingwan was exceptionally obedient. She nodded and immediately squatted down to relieve herself.
Li Zhaoye promptly turned his back to her and quietly stood guard nearby.
Only after the sounds gradually stopped did he turn around.
Good grief the woman had simply collapsed onto the ground!
This was… way too dirty!
He really wanted to throw her into the river!
He didn’t want her anymore!
Li Zhaoye took a deep breath and tried to reassure himself.
This woman was his wife now! Although they hadn’t officially registered their marriage yet, they had already completed the wedding ceremony. He couldn’t be disgusted by her!
It was autumn, and the river water was freezing cold. If he threw her in, she would get sick.
He wasn’t disgusted. She was his wife!
After mentally preparing himself, Li Zhaoye took another deep breath, gritted his teeth, and carried her back home.
Once they arrived, he immediately stripped off her clothes. Her clothes, pants, and socks all of them came off!
Then he lit the fire and began heating water.
First, he washed himself thoroughly from head to toe. He even washed both of their clothes while he was at it!
He didn’t want to travel with dirty clothes the next day!
Meanwhile, the courtyard on the other side of the wall was anything but peaceful.
Several figures pressed themselves against the wall, straining their ears as they secretly listened.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Judging by the sounds, Little Li’s not very impressive! How did it end in less than ten minutes?”
“Yeah! I clearly heard the sound of clothes being taken off just now!”
“Exactly! I even saw their shadows overlapping. How come he’s already gone to heat water and wash up?”
“Yeah, what a pity. He’s tall and sturdy-looking, but apparently the little brother isn’t up to the task!”
“How disappointing! He’s so young, yet he can’t even match half of what my old man could do back in the day.”
“Half? Your old man only lasted twenty minutes, and that’s still far behind!
“Personally, I think my old man was stronger! He’s already sixty, and he can still”
“Ahem!”
Zhao Dafen couldn’t help coughing from within the group.
Honestly, if she didn’t stop them now, she had no idea what else they were going to say.
She couldn’t understand why this group of women in their eighties refused to sleep in the middle of the night and had instead come over to eavesdrop on the newlyweds!
One of them had even been nimble enough to try climbing onto the wall to take a look! Thankfully, Zhao Dafen had stopped her.
“Ladies, it’s getting late. Let’s go home.”
“Look, although Comrade Little Li may not be very capable in that department, at least he’s hardworking. Look at him he’s washed all the clothes, inside and out!”
“Exactly. Not many men would wash their wife’s underwear for her.”
“Let’s go. There’s nothing interesting left to hear! Time to go home!”
Zhao Dafen breathed a sigh of relief.
She really didn’t want to stand outside in the cold night air at this hour. With this much free time, wouldn’t it be better to go home and spar with her old man?
Thinking about that, she smiled.
Her old man certainly wasn’t all show and no substance!
He was much stronger than Comrade Li!
After the group of old ladies left, silence returned outside the wall, and the room inside was peaceful as well.
Lin Jingwan had absolutely no idea that she had been thoroughly washed from head to toe.
At that moment, she was lost in a dream, feeling as though she were soaking in a hot spring.
The warm spring water seeped into every inch of her body, flowing through her limbs and making her sigh contentedly again and again.
However, this bliss didn’t last long. The dream suddenly shifted, and a huge beast actually tried to drag her out of the hot spring.
“Don’t even think about it! I haven’t soaked enough yet!”
Even in her sleep, she shouted loudly. Drawing on the fighting spirit she had developed in the apocalypse, she threw punches, raised her feet, kicked, and unleashed one move after another.
Unfortunately, the beast was quite formidable. It had tremendous strength and was incredibly agile. The two of them were locked in a stalemate for a while.
In the end, she had no choice but to bite down on the beast’s neck!
Its carotid artery was its weak point.
Sure enough, the moment she bit down, she tasted something warm and metallic on her tongue.
Unfortunately, the next second, a sharp pain struck the side of her neck, and she was knocked unconscious.
Back in reality, Li Zhaoye covered his neck and stared helplessly at the unconscious woman, secretly swearing that he would never let her drink alcohol again!
This woman was absolutely uninhibited when she got drunk.
Everything had been going perfectly while he was washing her, but suddenly she started throwing punches and kicking wildly, her movements wide and powerful enough to make him dizzy just watching her!
The most important thing was that she was actually quite skilled. Her movements were swift and vicious, and she had even known to bite him on the neck!
Then she had smacked her lips and swallowed his blood…
Thinking about it, Li Zhaoye was both exasperated and amused.
This woman was wilder than a cat!
He took a deep breath and covered her with the blanket she had kicked off yet again.
He had truly been mentally and physically exhausted that night!
“Look at this!”
That arm of hers had become restless again!
It suddenly reached out, grabbed his hand, and rubbed it against her cheek.
This woman really was something. Just moments ago, she had been a wild cat, and now she had turned into a tame house cat!
Li Zhaoye had no choice.
He simply lay down beside her.
Fine, he would just sleep like this!
He had spent more than half the night dealing with her and was exhausted himself.
Completely drained.
The next morning.
When Lin Jingwan woke up, her head was still spinning.
She rubbed her temples in frustration. How had she ended up getting completely drunk because of those old ladies yesterday?
“Sis! You’re awake.”
Luoluo was the first to push open the door, carrying a basin of cold water with both hands.
“Brother-in-law said washing your face with cold water will help you wake up faster.”
Hanhan placed the bowl he was carrying on the table.
“This is the millet porridge Brother-in-law made. You threw up yesterday, so this should make your stomach feel better.”
“Th-threw up?”
Lin Jingwan’s mind buzzed. Her previously foggy consciousness instantly snapped back to clarity.
The dark night, her unsteady legs, the pungent smell of the latrine, the man’s helpless yet tense profile…
Oh. My. God!!
What had she done yesterday?!
She had drunk until she was completely out of it and insisted on going to the bathroom. Li Zhaoye had supported her all the way there, only for her to start throwing up the moment they reached the latrine!
And she had even vomited all over Li Zhaoye!!
Lin Jingwan grabbed the towel and wiped her face, trying to wake herself up even more.
What happened after that?
Right!
Later, Li Zhaoye had carried her to an open area!
After she finished relieving herself…
Oh. My. God!!
She had just lain down right there and fallen asleep!!
She felt absolutely mortified!
She hurriedly looked down.
Thankfully, she had changed clothes, and there was even a faint scent of soap on them!
So… Li Zhaoye had washed her!
Suddenly, she remembered the dream she had the previous night!